jack-in-the-pulpit

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. An eastern North American tuberous herb (Arisaema triphyllum) having a striped, leaflike spathe with a bent blade and three-lobed leaves. Also called regionally Indian turnip.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. A common American spring-flowering woodland herb (Arisæma triphyllum) having sheathing leaves and an upright club-shaped spadix with overarching green and purple spathe producing scarlet berries; also called Indian turnip.

n. A common European arum (Arum maculatum) with lanceolate spathe and short purple spadix; it emerges in early spring and is a source of a sagolike starch called arum.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. The Indian turnip, Arisæma triphyllum, of the natural order Araceæ: so called from its upright spadix surrounded and overarched by the spathe. See Araceæ.

It was only to be the edging on a shawl for her, but he spent three days and two nights on it; and then she asked him to make it over with jack-in-the-pulpit inset, because she was sure to grow tired very soon of Sweet William; then she changed her mind about jack-in-the-pulpit and decided on wintergreen berries.

Gray olive trees were on either side, and on the bordering banks grew lovely wild flowers, starry purple anemones, jack-in-the-pulpit lilies, yellow oxalis, moon-daisies, and the beautiful genista which we treasure as a conservatory plant in England.

Britain -- the "lords and ladies" of the village lanes, the foreign counterpart of our well-known jack-in-the-pulpit, or Indian-turnip, with its purple-streaked canopy, and sleek "preacher" standing erect beneath it.

Occasionally, however, as in the cypripedium and in certain of the arums, or "jack-in-the-pulpit," and aristolochias, the welcome becomes somewhat aggressive, the guest being forcibly detained awhile after tea, or, as in the case of our milkweed, occasionally entrapped for life.